June 28th, 2008 arts
The Pig may be the most generous and honorable Sign of the Chinese Zodiac. Pigs are nice to a fault and possess impeccable manners and taste. They are perfectionists and can be perceived them as snobs, but this is a misconception. Pigs are simply possessed of a truly luxurious nature, one that delights in finery and nice things (in surroundings, food, lovemaking and otherwise). This Sign believes in the best qualities of mankind and certainly doesn’t consider itself to be superior. Pigs also care a great deal about friends and family and work hard to keep everyone in their life happy. Helping others is a true pleasure for the Pig, who feels best when everyone else is smiling.
A Pig with no one around to appreciate its giving nature is a sad thing indeed. Pigs are so magnanimous they can appear almost saintly; this can lead some less-than-well-intentioned souls to stomp all over this Sign, and the bad news is, the Pig will take the blows.
Pigs are highly intelligent creatures, forever studying, playing and probing in their quest for greater knowledge. They can be misinterpreted as being lazy, however, due to their love of reveling in the good stuff; this Sign could happily spend hours on end making love, napping, taking a long bubble bath or dallying over an incredible spread of rich foods. Pigs tend to make wonderful life partners due to their hearts of gold and their love of family. Even so, Pigs can be rather exclusive, choosing to spend time with those who will appreciate them most and ignore the rest of the populace. Pigs would do well to realize that there’s more to life than being needed. When they open up their world to a diverse group of people, they will truly bloom. The most compatible match for a Pig is the Rabbit or the Goat.
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June 26th, 2008 arts
Puppet Art is popular in many countries of Asia. Indonesian Puppet shadow play was known as Wayang Kulit which originated from Bali and Java. The term Wayang Kulit has been derived from the words Warang meaning ghost or shadow and Kulit meaning leather and when put together meant shadow from leather. They used two-dimensional figures, flat and round and were made with the hide of a buffalo. The sticks attached to these figures were planted in the banana stems which were placed beneath a cloth screen onto which the shadow of the puppet was casted. The right side of the stage was occupied by the good characters; where as the left side was occupied by the wrong doers. They are maneuvered by puppeteers know as Dalang. Puppet art was very exhausting at that time, the show used to go on for nine hours in the night with the puppeteer sitting cross-legged without a wink. He was even expected to play Rebab, the two-stringed violin, with one hand and handle the Chempala or the strings of the puppet with another hand. The themes of these shows were the Javanese versions of the two hundred stories from Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata which are referred to as Rama cycle and Pandawa cycle respectively. The puppet show involving three-dimensional puppets were known as Wayang Golek.
Shadow puppetry took its full form in Tang Dynasty. That era was known as The Age of 1000 Entertainments. The two different kinds of puppetry are Cantonese and Pekingese. They differ in the production of the puppets and the way by which these puppets are being positioned with the help of rods, though the theme is same in both the techniques, that is, they revolve around stories with elements of adventurous fiction. Thick leather was used in the manufacturing of Cantonese puppets, so as to create a good shadow. The colors were used to represent different characters. A brave man had a red facial color where as an honest character had a black face. The rod was attached perpendicularly to the head of the puppet to make them less visible during the shadow performance. The puppets were bigger than Pekingese puppets. On the other hand the Pekingese puppets were more petite and were made out of thin and translucent leather which made them more fragile. They were equally good for the shadow performance as they were colored very vividly. Thin rods were attached to the neck of the figure and werent visible during the performance. The Chinese puppeteers had a superstition that the puppets will come to life at night if the head was kept intact with the body. So the head was separated from the body and the body was stored in a box. With respect to time, shadow puppetry started flourishing and reached its prime in the eleventh century.
Puppetry blossomed in the Indian villages and became an integral part of the folk culture. The puppets of India can be broadly classified as rod, thread, shadow and glove puppets which are made out of material like leather, wood, wool or cloth. Usually these puppets have a small body with an outstanding head with large eyes to add charm and personality. The villain has characteristic dark goggle eyes; the hero of the story has light eyes. Hands are made out of cloth bags stuffed with hands and most of the puppets have no legs which are substituted by a long robe. Exceptions are the ones who have to ride horses. The male puppets are made to wear turbans and chase the bad guy, fight and even fall dead and the female puppets have braided ponytails and hold their skirts in their hand while dancing. The head-puppeteer moves the puppets with the help of strings or rods and usually provides the voice and the female voices and songs are provided by his wife and kids. Denizens of the states Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,
Kerala, Orissa and Rajasthan are well known to have mastered the art of puppetry. The drawback of puppetry is that it lacks facial expression. Exaggeration and distortion should be provided to achieve the best results. But the humor provided is incomparable which make this irreplaceable art unique in itself.
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June 25th, 2008 arts
If you were born in the years 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985 or 1997 then you were born under the sign of the Ox in Chinese astrology. Our Chinese menu that we pilfered from lunch today says that you are bright, patient and inspiring to others. You can be happy by yourself, yet make an outstanding parent. You should marry a Snake or Cock. Avoid those Sheep.
The Ox is a steadfast and solid, a born leader. Its dependable and has what it takes to achieve great things. They are methodical, not plunging in without considering what the right steps are to get a project finished. They believe in doing it right the first time.
In the business world, because the Ox can be strong leader, it can also be a bit stubborn or dogmatic. They prefer to lead and dont like to be pushed around.
While the Ox is smart, trustworthy caring and honorable, it can also be a bit judgmental and this characteristic can keep them from having the close friends and relationships that they desire. Some good advice for the Ox is to learn to value qualities in others, and to listen to what others have to say. Sometimes it pays just to say nothing.
The Oxs daily horoscope for today: Relatives or friends may provide you with discreet and effective help. Try to spend more time with your children and satisfy their needs. Don’t forget to play the lottery today — you’ll be then in a stream of chance. All chances will be on your side and at the highest point; it’s essential that you forge ahead courageously and methodically. The stars will support your ambitions and will help you be recognized and appreciated in your work.
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June 23rd, 2008 arts
This is the Publishers Statement describing this book: Everyone’s favorite astrology book, having sold over 500,000 copies, is now even easier to use with an interactive cd-rom This edition of still includes all of the detailed information about how to cast your own chart the old-fashioned way and, more importantly, how to interpret it once you’re finished. But the cd-rom in this new edition allows the reader to cast his or her chart in just a few minutes by inputting the date, time and place of birth into the computer, producing a personalized astrological chart in just a few minutes. Once the reader’s chart is created, he or she is directed to the corresponding pages in the book to read further about moon signs, sun signs, ascending signs, placement of the planets in their houses, and much more.
The Library Journals opinion of the book is as follows: Although this is not the only astrology book that your library will ever need, it is still a valuable title that should be strongly considered. Woolfolk, the horoscope columnist for Marie Claire and Redbook magazines, has updated her classic guide for the first time in 19 years. Thoroughly covered here are sun signs, moon signs, planets, and the significance of the 12 zodiacal houses, as well as the most recent discoveries in astronomy and 21st-century projections. The author gives an easy, logical way to integrate the interpretations of the sun signs, moon signs, planets, and houses in any given chart, something not easily done or often seen in general astrology books. The book’s only shortcoming is its lack of instruction on making a detailed technical chart, which is necessary if one is to cast a complete and accurate horoscope. However, Woolfolk compensates for this by teaching a simplified method that is about 90 percent accurate enough to get a beginner started and includes a bibliography for further instruction. Astronomical tables are included to help cast the simplified chart. A great bargain for the price, this is highly recommended for all astrology collections.
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June 22nd, 2008 arts
The works of William Shakespeare bears no comparison in the history of arts. He was a versatile English poet, play writer and actor. He has written nearly 38 plays, 154 sonnets and countless poems between the years 15821612, which are remembered even to this day. They had great impact on English literature and western theater. All his works have been translated into all known languages and they have been performed around over the world over a million times.
Although most of his works were written for English audience the appeal was universal. His writing style was greatly influenced by Christopher Marlowe. In 1594, Shakespeare became part-owner of Lord Chamberlains Men, a drama company. By then he had even started acting, along with writing plays. Under his presence the company became so famous which made King James I buy the company and then it was named as Kings men.
His plays revolved around tragedy, comedy, romance and history. He started his career reworking on other writers work which was common at that time. Since then he helped the playwrights to finish their work fast. Like Hamlet was the new adaptation of a lost play named Ur-Hamlet and King Lear was the new version of King Leir. His plays on history were inspired by the Greek, Roman and English history. Plays like Plutarchs Parallel Lives and Raphael Holinsheds The Chronicle of England inspired plays like Macbeth and King Lear. Tempest was his original work.
Shakespeares early works of 1590s were based on romantic comedies and historic nostalgia which were the storyline of works like A Midsummer Nights Dream and Henry IV, Part I. After the plague, he began including rhymed couplets and dramatic dialogues in his work. His middle period works revolved around betrayal, murder, egoism, power, ambition, lust, tragedy and comedy. Plays like Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Troilus and Cressida were based on them. His later works were mostly romantic and fantasies such as The Winters Tale and The Tempest. His works were also published in press as a series of quartos. Two actors named John Heminges and Henry Condell started First Folio to honor and publish Shakespeares work exclusively in 1623. Categories such as comedies, tragedies and histories were made in First Folio. Modern critics have added categories like problem-play and tragic-comedies.
The exact order of plays is unknown and has always been the subject of an argument as at his time, plays werent authoritatively printed. Many of his plays had many different blueprints due to the textual corruption like printers error and compositors misreading, so the recognition of his original work is a problem. Many words and spellings were invented by Shakespeare. He had a habit of writing his plays number of time using those different words and spellings. After his death, speculations have risen about the authenticity of Shakespeares work. There have been very little record about the events that happened in his life and nor does his will gives an account on any of his plays, poems, sonnets and ownership of the Globe theater. It has been rumored that they might be works of Francis Bacon or Christopher Marlowe.
The works that have been lost are Loves Labour Won, Cardenio and Quixote. Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Nights Dream, King Lear, As You Like It, Hamlet, The Taming of the Shrew, Othello, Julius Caesar, The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Macbeth and Richard III are some the critically acclaimed works of William Shakespeare.
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